It’s quite easy to infer this spooky London based industrial collective of "art-scapists" deals with occultist themes just from the fact the names of their members have not be taken from the ones by Teletubbies! Xykogen, cryptic term coined by the band founder Amon Zero meaning "any process influencing mind" according to this bizarre neologist, can count among its members the above mentioned Amon – former vocalist of the cyberpunk UK band Arkam Asylum – and a bunch of sound experi/mentalists and sorcerers such as Max Rael – founder and member of History of Guns -, the drummer Mog Warbeast – playing a key role in the line-up in my modest opinion... -, Lee Chaos – running the notorious Judder club - and The Reverend Eris – both of them being the entities behind the mechanical curtains of The Chaos Engine and Wasp Factory Recordings – as well as occasional collaborators.

Their manifest occultist references (I could do nothing but indulgently smile when noticing some details such as the reprise of the notorious Latin palindrome "In Girum Imus Nocte Et Consumimur Igni" in order to begin and end the tracklist full of double-titled pieces or the references to the Pythagorean philosophical concept of Musica Universalis someone tried to "ensound" recurring to mathematical algorithms based on abstruse musical "translitterations" of some geometrical series reflecting the so-called music of the spheres) doesn’t mask shoddy compositions and it’s evident when you’ll listen to this release, a 1-hour-and-1-second long live-recording of a Xykogen’s show at The Foundry in London, one of the sacred temple for the avant-garde acts, including some interesting examples of experimentation which are not to be considered just as aseptic sound tests and/or effortless jiggling manipulations, beginning with the introductory In Girum Imus Nocte, an heavy start to set up your pavilions with a raw flux(us) of razor-cut noises and guitar walls, an heavy drumming session and some atmospheric creepy shouts by Amon, obsessively repeating "we’re invisible" and so pulling the listener into the climax of that exhibition, before the suffocating knots tightening throughout 8bit pulses, intricate layering, mungo drumming sets, reversed sound cascading – among which the classical Casio tone for the laser beam... ! - and ill-ogical rhythmical pattern of the title track subtitled Ineffable, Empty which is going to delight most extreme and obscure experimental music’s lovers, projecting them into the ritualistic setting the folks attending that meeting at The Foundry on February 25th 2009!

The following track, Pissing Contest/Kshatriya referring to the warrior class according to the Hindu social orders, is a blasting one that will rape your eardrums through a Throbbig Gristle-style thunderous effected guitars perfectly fading into the following Citizen’s Arrest/Fury With The Face Heaven (featuring another Casio tone... the typing machine!), an aggressive electro-punk episode deeply influenced by 80s punk and French electro-metal wisely placed before the psychedelic dark-ambient suite Ki/Qiyamat – another reference to mystical terminology-, whose drones broken by powerful and unexpected thunders are impressively suggestive reminding some similar workouts by Origami Galaktika . There’s nothing really musical in the vocal obscure bunch of interviews and personal stories by survivors from the holocaust, you could hear in a disorientating jungle of whispering sounds, metallic brushings and hypnotic bells in the provocative Work Will Make You Free/We Rip This Symbol From The Void, sloping into a bewildering nebula of laser blasts introducing the martial stepping built on over-filled organ disorientating phrases in the thrilling Seidhr/TO REND THE VEIL OF PAROKETH. The following track Brand X seems to be an attempt of redefining a brand new form of punk even if the artistic liaision to the French anarcho-punk scene is clear... pay attention to details to be conscious of what I’m referring to! The final track, Behold, The Silver Star, hallows Xykogen’s Dadaist (or lettreist as well!) and de-structionist attitude in treating sound, consecrating themselves as some of the best learners of P-Orridge lecturers! Something that could let your nerves scream out for its terrific hallucinatory gripping!!! Last but not least (or if you prefer Latin, dulcis in fundo)– another esoteric imprint? -: it’s thee (double E’s not a spelling mistake... ) release number 23 licensed by Mrs Vee.

GRAUE PASSION, op.67B is the newest Vladimir Hirsch album and it is a re-visitation of "Symphony No.4 - Descent From The Cross", op.67". Dedicated to the memory of his father, GRAUE PASSION is a live recording with subsequent studio work and mastering. Vladimir took the original material of "Symphony No.4" and, if possible, made it sounding more obsessive and obscure. Using orchestral and industrial sounds he creates an alternation of atmospheres where the evocative vocals of Martina Sanollová sound like a desperate prayer. Strings and horns shake the listener while samples, piano and noises form a thick web of sounds ready to explode. GRAUE PASSION explores the human agony and make it sound like an eternal condemnation as it sounds like there's no way out...

Named after the Mario Bava movie titled OPERAZIONE PAURA, the second album by santAAgostino takes inspiration from horror movies of the 60s/70s (mostly Italian ones) referring to actors (Barbara Steele the English actress, star of 60s movies such like "La maschera del demonio" a.k.a. "Black Sunday", "I lunghi capelli della morte" a.k.a. "The Long Hair of Death" or "Amanti d'oltretomba" a.k.a. "Nightmare Castle") or films (George Romero's "La citta' verra' distrutta all'alba", "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" or Ken Wiederhorn's "Shock waves") but without making of it a sort of quiz game where you have to guess titles or else. The three members of santAAgostino from their own words intended this: "OPERAZIONE PAURA speaks of the filmic and horrorific fear, mind trap 'to kill' atavistic thoughts and all those mental factors that trapped the man into a self-made cage in his own mind, through the mind itself". They applied to music what many filmmakers did with their own movies using fear sublimation as a catalyst. The seven tracks of the album use ambient electronic sounds with industrial influences here and there to bring the listener to an unconscious state where nothing exists no more and where everything dies and born... Also this fine release is brought to you by Greytone.

Trama Afona is the musical project of Lorenzo Scacchia and the self title album released by Greytone is his first official full length release. Composed by fourteen tracks, the album since its first minutes, offer a blend of semi classical strucures, chants, orchestral dramatic themes and cinematic atmospheres. Focusing the efforts on the sound sculpture, Lorenzo is ideally building a bridge between the soundtrack approach of Atrium Carceri and the bombastic sound of the latest Karjalan Sissit (even if this element is less evident). Melodically influenced by classical music of late 19th and early 20th centuries, Trama Afona, create soundtracks for tragic events succeeding into giving form to every day's nightmares. The tracks, composed between 2005 and 2008, offer a sight on how Trama Afona's sound changed during the years: the last tracks are the oldest ones and are based on dark ambient atmospheres with the predominance of synth sounds and industrial rhythms while the newest tunes are a bit more orchestral oriented with a major attention on the sound palette as the overall atmosphere is less saturated gaining a sort of brilliance. Good release for this new Italian label which since the first releases is proposing itself as one of the most interesting ones in the dark sounds field.

Used as a card of a mysterious club called Il Circolo Della Vela, the sixth volume of the compilation with the same name offers twelve bands/tracks of the Italian industrial/wave/experimental scenes. The major change from the old volumes is that this time participated also bands that have already released different albums or who are kinda historical (see Rinf, MGZ and Maurizio Bianchi). The compilations opens with a new Rinf track: "Panic trotter". Their sound is always tense and nervous and someway it recalled me a bit the late Einsturzende Neubauten. Next we have a great electro ambient track by Keith, a dark e.b.m. tune by Klonavenus and an experimental feedback/guitar based track by Carlomargot. Ius Primae Noctis with "Change forever" give their version of electro aggro grind. Condanna is next with "Cranio loop", a track based on a noisy loop with variations. Next we have Spargle In Grey & Maurizio Bianchi with a live track recorded in Graz titled "The sky gets grey" which is based on violins, samples and guitars. Sandro Codazzi with "Aftermath" proposes a nice retro electro tune titled "Aftermath". Teatrino Elettrico with "Senza titolo" pass from experimental acoustic noises to semi power electronics sounds. DJ Pellegrino Ernetti with "Fuori day musei" gives his idea of sampleism as musical art creating a sort of reverse sounding 80's electro tune which didn't impressed me that much. Sinclair is next with "The routine song (London dub factory mix)", a nice pop electronic tune with dub intuitions. MGZ closes the compilation with a remix of his "Non basta mai" coming from "Ho visto tempi migliori" album.